safety crisis by, 48–49; regrets of, about time management, 78; rhythm of Dow-Corning unchanged by, 105;
sources of advice for, 95–96; on time required for “hitting groove,” 125–126 C
Canavan, Pat, 14 Cappellas, Mike, 16
CEOs: best advice from, 137–141; down- to-earth quality of, 143n4; as source of advice, 16, 95–96, 96–97, 98, 99, 102, 140–141; turnover of, 2. See also names of specific CEOs
Chambers, John, 16
Changes: avoiding, when assuming CEO position after predecessor’s death, 36;
hindered by people legacy, 19–20, 24–25, 52; made to deal with plum- meting stock price, 42; rapid incre- mentalism approach to, 107–108; in relationship with customers, 18–19 ChefsBest Award, 26, 27, 28
Citrin, Jim, 12, 13 Collins, Jim, 64
Communication: with branch offices, 109;
direct, with customers, 18, 19, 45;
honest, about downsizing, 38–39 Community boards, as source of advice,
102
Company culture. SeeCorporate culture Compensation program, changed to
increase customer focus, 18
Consultants, outside, as source of advice, 91, 94–95, 99, 100, 101, 102 Corporate culture: building, as challenge
for new CEO, 28; company lacking coherent, 87; as factor in management team selection, 70–71; giving more attention to, 77; limited knowledge about, 21, 81; time required for chang- ing, 19–20; transformation of, 46–47 Culture. SeeCorporate culture Customers: changing relationship with,
18–19, 20; necessity of getting to know, 45
D
Death, assuming CEO position after sud- den, of predecessor, 29–33, 36 Decision making: “chicken or steak”
approach to, 83; gauging correct speed
of, 84–89; knowledge about company’s process for, 81
Dimon, Jamie: best advice from, 138;
career change by, 143n1; casualness of, 143n4; first-day rejection of, 9–10, 11, 37; management team slowly formed by, 59–62; personal rhythm of, 114;
plan formulated by, while gathering information, 37–39; quick decision making by, 83–84; steady approach of, to achieving results, 123
Dolan, Peter: best advice from, 139; com- pany moved beyond crisis rhythm by, 112–113; on gauging required speed of making decisions, 88; ImClone invest- ment as challenge for, 35–36; manage- ment team quickly formed by, 53–54;
personal rhythm of, 112; regrets of, about not asking about status of incumbent CEO, 86; sources of advice for, 102–103; time required by, for achieving results, 119
Dorman, Dave: cause of break in stride of, 127; “hitting groove” recalled by, 125;
on management team selection, 63;
personal rhythm of, 111; retirement of, 144n1; sources of advice for, 92–95 Dow Chemical: Liveris selected as new
CEO of, 71–72; management team selection at, 72–75; results achieved by new CEO of, in first 100 days, 124;
rhythm of, 117; sources of advice for CEO of, 96–97; time required for CEO to “hit groove” at, 126
Dow-Corning: customer-driven rhythm of, 105; leadership development process at, 66; management team selection at, 69–71; regrets about time management at, 78; silicone-implant safety as issue for, 48–49; sources of advice for CEO of, 95–96; time required for CEO to “hit groove” at, 125–126
Downsizing. SeeLayoffs Dreyer’s Ice Cream, 27 E
E&J Gallo, 27
Employees: importance of smiling at, 68;
poor morale of, 46, 47; slow pace of acting on issues related to, 79, 88. See alsoLayoffs
150 I N D E X
I N D E X 151
Energy creation, as role of leadership, 121 Esrey, Bill, 95
Executive sponsors, assigned to customers, 18
Executives, turnover of senior, 2 F
Family: dealing with, of CEO who died suddenly, 31; mixed reaction by, to accepting CEO position, 15–16. See alsoSpouses
Farber, Dana, 103
Firing employees. SeeLayoffs
“Flow.” See“Groove”
Friends, as source of advice, 92, 95, 102–103
Frito-Lay: as ChefsBest Award licensee, 27; existing management team retained at, 58; rhythm of, 116; sources of advice for CEO of, 100
Fuller, Larry, 12 G
Game plans. SeePlans Garriques, Ron, 58 Gerstner, Lou, 16, 57 Good to Great(Collins), 64 Graddick-Weir, Mirian, 95
“Groove”: causes of “break in,” 127–128;
time required for “hitting,” 120, 124–127
H
Hannigan, Bill, 95
History: as benefit and advantage, 56–57;
paralysis by, 52. See alsoPeople legacy Horton, Tom, 95
I
Ianna, Frank, 94 Idealab!, 21, 22 ImClone, 35–36
Immersion, information gathering as, 16, 38
Improvisation, 44, 48
Information: about company’s decision- making process, 81; easy availability of, 44; unknown about culture, 21, 81 Information gathering: about value of
management team members, 61–62;
hindered by predecessor not being informed of replacement, 44–45; plan
formulation while, 37–39; by prospec- tive CEO, 16–18, 23–24
Infrastructure, upgrading and building, 27–28
Interviews: asking about company deci- sion-making process in, 81; asking about status of incumbent CEO in, 86;
limited knowledge gained in, 24; for position as CEO of Motorola, 12–13, 14–15
IT system, consolidating multiple, 37, 39 J
Jobs, Steve, 16
Joerres, Jeffrey: best advice from, 139–140;
on first 100-day plan, 38; management team quickly formed by, 54–55; per- sonal rhythm of, 108–109; rapid incre- mentalism approach of, 107–108;
sources of advice for, 101–102; steady approach of, to achieving results, 120, 122–123
JP Morgan Chase, 143n1 K
Kodak, 56 L
Layoffs: communicating necessity of, 38–39; to deal with plummeting stock price, 42; as interrupting company’s rhythm, 110; of management, 51–52, 69; to send message that change is necessary, 67–68
Leadership, creating energy as role of, 121 Legal counsel, as source of advice, 94–95,
99
LeMay, Ron, 95
Liveris, Andrew: cause of interruption of flow for, 128; on gauging required speed of making decisions, 88; on knowing customers, 45; management team selection by, 72–75; personal rhythm of, 116; results achieved by, in first 100 days, 124; selected as CEO of Dow Chemical, 71–72; as source of advice, 95; sources of advice for, 96–97; on time required for “hitting groove,” 126
Loneliness: CEO reporting absence of, 96;
CEOs experiencing, 2, 37, 91, 100–101
Lucent Technologies: full engagement of new CEO of, 124–125; interruptions of rhythm of, 110–111; plummeting stock price of, 40–43; quick formation of management team at, 55–57;
sources of advice for CEO of, 99–100 M
MacDowell, Angus, 46
Management team, 5, 51–75; built by deceased predecessor, 33; consultant help in selecting, 94; importance of members of, 52–53, 61; leadership development of members of, 66; myth about, 4, 133; quick formation of, 51–52, 53–57; real truth about, 133;
retaining existing, 58; selecting right people for, 62–75; slow formation of, 57–62; as source of advice, 100 Manpower: quick formation of manage-
ment team at, 54–55; rapid incremen- talism at, 107–108; sources of advice for CEO of, 101–102; steady approach to achieving results at, 120, 122–123 McNerney, Jim, 1
Mead-Johnson, 53 Microsoft, 98
Middle managers, 2, 51 Misconceptions. SeeMyths
Mistakes, 5–6, 77–89; acting quickly as, 84; acting slowly as, 79, 82–83, 84;
delay in accepting CEO position as, 78–81; fear of making, 108; gauging required speed of action to avoid, 84–89; myth about, 4, 133; real truth about, 133; related to culture, 77, 81;
in time management, 78; viewed as learning experiences, 78, 84, 133 Motorola: efforts to speed up rhythm at,
115–116; lack of coherent culture at, 87; management team selection at, 64–65; slow formation of management team at, 57–59; slow pace of acting at, 79, 84; surprises encountered in, 18–19 Myth #1. SeeSurprises
Myth #2. SeePlans
Myth #3. SeeManagement team Myth #4. SeeMistakes
Myth #5. SeeAdvice Myth #6. SeeRhythm Myth #7. SeeTime line
Myths: list of, 4–5; real truth about, 131–135
N
Nike plan, 52
90 days, first, 6, 119, 129 Nortel, 43
Noski, Chuck, 93–94
Notebaert, Dick: advisers to, 91; best advice from, 140; improvisation by, to overcome corporate problems, 44–48;
management team selection by, 68–69;
on Qwest’s rhythm, 116 O
Organically groomed. SeeRising organi- cally
Organizations, as source of advice, 97, 98–99
P
Pace. SeeRhythm; Speed of acting Parachuting in: defined, 10, 11; surprises
encountered by CEOs when, 18–19, 24–25, 27–28
Parker, John: background of, 26; became CEO by buying company, 25–27; cul- ture neglected by, 77; on rhythm of American Culinary ChefsBest, 117–118; sources of advice for, 97, 98–99; surprises encountered by, 27–28
People legacy, change hindered by, 19–20, 24–25. See alsoHistory
Pepper, John, 12, 13, 15, 16
Personal coach, as source of advice, 101 Personal rhythm: of Dimon at Bank One,
114; of Dolan at Bristol-Myers, 112; of Dorman at AT&T, 111; of Joerres at Manpower, 108–109; of Liveris at Dow Chemical, 116; organizational rhythm vs., 118; of Rosenfeld at Frito-Lay, 116;
of Russo at Lucent, 111; of Streeter at Banta, 114; of Zander at Motorola, 114–115
Plans, 5, 35–50; for cash flow problem at small company, 44; for creating change after death of predecessor, 36; for deal- ing with financial and morale prob- lems at company, 44–48; for first 100 days as CEO, 38; formulating, while gathering information, 37–39; for get- ting to know customers, 45; for han- dling plummeting stock price, 40–43;
myth about, 4, 132; for public revela- tions of company’s investments, 152 I N D E X
I N D E X 153
35–36; real truth about, 132; for sili- cone-implant safety issue, 48–49 Polumbo, John, 95
Q
Qwest: advisers to new CEO of, 91;
improvisation by CEO of, to overcome problems, 44–48; management team selection at, 68–69; rhythm of, 116 R
Rapid incrementalism, 107–108 Regrets. SeeMistakes
Reinemund, Steve, 85 Resizing. SeeLayoffs
Rhythm, 6, 105–118; companies with fast-paced, 113–118; customer-driven, 105; interruptions of, 110–111; mov- ing beyond crisis, 112–113; myth about, 4, 134; rapid incrementalism’s effect on, 107–108; real truth about, 134; reestablishing even-paced, 111–112; refraining from changing, 105; summary of findings on, 118;
varying pace of, 106–107. See alsoPer- sonal rhythm
Rising organically: defined, 10, 11; diffi- culties of, with sudden death of prede- cessor, 29–33; few surprises
encountered when, 11
Rosenfeld, Irene: existing management team retained by, 58; on gauging required speed of action, 84–85; per- sonal rhythm of, 116; sources of advice for, 100
Russell-Stover, 27
Russo, Pat: best advice from, 140–141; full engagement with new company by, 124–125; on interruptions to com- pany’s rhythm, 110–111; management team quickly formed by, 55–57; per- sonal rhythm of, 111; plummeting stock price as challenge for, 40–43; as source of advice, 16; sources of advice for, 99–100
S
Schacht, Henry, 40
School Specialty, new CEO’s experience at, after sudden death of predecessor, 29–33
Silver Lake Partners, 12 Smiling, importance of, 68
Spalding, Dan, 29–31, 32, 33 Speed of acting: gauging required,
84–89; regrets about quick, 84; regrets about slow, 79, 82–83, 84. See also Rhythm
Spouses, as source of advice, 101, 102. See alsoFamily
Stavropoulos, Bill, 72, 96 Stewart, Martha, 35–36
Streeter, Stephanie: background of, 22–23; Banta’s recruitment of, 21–22, 23–24; best advice from, 141; cause of break in stride of, 127; on gauging required speed of action, 87–88; on
“hitting groove” as new CEO, 127;
information gathering by, 23–24;
knowledge of, about culture, 81; man- agement team selection by, 65, 67–68;
personal rhythm of, 114; regrets of, about slow pace of acting, 79; on smil- ing at employees, 68; sources of advice for, 100–101; surprises encountered by, 24–25
“Stride.” See“Groove”
Succession, importance of circumstances of, 10–11
Sun Microsystems, 12, 13, 16, 59 Support, CEO’s experience of lack of,
9–10, 11, 37
Surprises, 5, 9–33; circumstances of becoming CEO and, 10–11; first-day rejection by board as, 9–10, 11, 37;
myth about, 4, 132; for new American Culinary ChefsBest CEO, 27–28; for new Banta CEO, 24–25; for new Motorola CEO, 18–19; real truth about, 132; sudden death of predeces- sor as, for organically groomed CEO, 29–33
T
Team. SeeManagement team
Teamwork: with management team mem- bers, 74; as problem encountered by new CEO, 19
Time line, 6, 119–129; “fire fighting” at beginning of, 119; first 90 days of, 119, 129; for “hitting groove,” 120, 124–127; interruptions of “flow” along, 127–128; myth about, 5, 135; real truth about, 135; steady approach to achieving results throughout, 120–124 Trevino, Lee, 128
Turnover: due to morale problem, 39; of executives, 2
V
Values, emphasis on, 122–123
Vander Zanden, Dave: best advice from, 141; cause of break in stride of, 127–128; CEO role assumed by, after death of predecessor, 29–33; change avoided initially by, 36
Vanstar, 79–80
Viewpoint: delay in acceptance of CEO position of, 79–81; firing of manage- ment team members at, 51–52; impro- visation by CEO at, 44; rhythm varied at, 106–107; slow pace of action by new CEO of, 82–83; useless advice given to CEO of, 98
W
Warrior, Padmasree, 14 Welch, Jack, 16 Women, competitive, 25
World Presidents’ Organization (WPO), 97, 98–99
Wright Orthopedics, 48 Y
Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), 97, 98–99
Z
Zander, Ed: on avoiding breaking groove, 128; “growing organically” defined by, 10; information gathering by, 16–18; lack of coherent culture encountered by, 87; management team selection by, 64–65; man- agement team slowly formed by, 57–59; Motorola’s recruitment and hiring of, 11–15, 16; no-meeting goal of, 115–116; personal rhythm of, 114–115; reaction of family of, to accepting Motorola CEO posi- tion, 15–16; on reasons for success, 20–21; regrets of, about slow pace of acting, 79, 84; source of advice for, 140–141; surprises encountered by, 18–19, 87
Zimmer, 53–54 154 I N D E X